~ Connecting & Creating Community for Kirtan Lovers in Toronto and Beyond ~

Kirtan opens the heart and stills the mind. It is the yoga practice of ecstatic chanting. Through repeating the Divine Names in Sanskrit, the mind is cleared of worry, doubt, fear and all limiting concepts. The joy of peace and infinite love is given to the practitioner, and transmitted through the world by chanting. This is the practice of bhakti yoga or the yoga of devotion. - contributed by Pat Sandford

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ALL known kirtans are posted below, on the left side, on this website's Kirtan Calendar.

“Music that is saturated with soul force is the real universal music, understandable by all hearts.” — Paramahansa Yogananda

“Kirtan is for all people. There are no experts, no beginners. The practice itself is the teacher, guiding us to ourselves. Kirtan allows us to enter into a mystery world—a world where all the logic of our minds, all the condition and learning are left outside. And in this mystery, we create a temple inside of our hearts, a place of refuge, a place of love, a place of just being.” —Jai Uttal

"Chanting is a way of getting in touch with yourself. It's an opening of the heart and letting go of the mind and thoughts. It deepens the channel of grace, and it's a way of being present in the moment." -- Krishna Das

"You start doing chanting as technique. You start to sing ‘Shri Ram, Jai Ram, Jai Jai Ram.’ You start thinking it means, Honorable Ram, Hail Ram, Hail Hail Ram. Then after an hour you stop thinking about all of that and you are just singing it. You are realizing the aesthetic of the music and how beautiful it is. Then after a while it starts to go deeper until your heart is just singing, it’s singing from inside you. Then there’s a point where true bhakti starts- where dualism ends and you become like the chant. You are in a space where it’s not emotional anymore. It’s moved into the deeper, intuitive quality of love. Touching that love leaves you with trust in the method and trust in where the method takes you—trust in the Beloved and trust in how you get there." –Ram Dass

"If we know anything about a path at all, it's only because of the Great ones that have gone before us. Out of their love and kindness, they have left some footprints for us to follow. So, in the same way that they wish for us, we wish that all beings everywhere, including ourselves, be safe, be happy, have good health, and enough to eat. And may we all live at ease of heart with whatever comes to us in life."
- Kirtan closing prayer by Krishna Das


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Saturday September 24, 2011 SWAHA


Kirtan with Swaha


Saturday, September 24, 2011
8:00pm

Downward Dog Yoga Centre – Downtown Location

735 Queen St. West, 2nd Floor

Toronto, ON M6J 1G1

416.703.8805


Join us for a live Kirtan preformance with Swaha (Marla Meenakshi and Ron Reid) joined by special guests Chris Gartner, Morgan Doctor and Genevieve Walker.

Swaha performs music that is both inspired and uplifting. It is an enticing blend of ethereal Sanskrit vocals soaring over rich earthy rhythms.

Frequently travelling internationally and sharing their love of music and the art of yoga, Meenakshi and Ron enjoy the opportunity to dive into the depths of a complete practice with people, filled with Bhakti (devotion), laughter, the beauty of the physicality of the yoga practice as well as the deep philosophical basis for it's existence.

SWAHA MUSIC:
Swaha's Cds entitled 'Salutations', 'Vishnu's Dream' and 'Bolo' are available for purchase at both our studio locations as well as on the Swaha website, cdbaby and itunes. Their latest track, released July 2010 titled 'Shanti Pulse' is now available for purchase exclusively online! Visit at www.swaha.ca for full details.

"[Meenakshi's] open-hearted chanting soothes the heart and frees the spirit." ~Krishna Das

TICKETS:
$ 20 + tax - In advance (Before September 24th)
$ 25 + tax - On the day or at the door

http://www.downwarddog.com/web/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=43&Itemid=19&LocationID=1&TypeGroupID=11&ClassID=1695

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